Lucemon's Apocalypse
by Ajwf is a verb
Summary: TK and Kari go cross-dimensional to attempt to stop Lucemon. But he has summoned everything to stop them. Even with the help of new and old digidestines, can one such as Lucemon even be stopped? And now, with Lucemon's new allies, the four riders of the apocalypse, victory lies in a small margin of only 12 days until Lucemon is truly invincible...
1. Prologue: The World We Know

Disclaimer: I do not own digimon. If I did, why would I write these and not make them into movies?

This is a sequel to my "Rise of Daemon". If you don't feel like reading it (It wasn't all that bad, believe it or not), just tell me via review or pm and I can catch you up fairly shortly. The beginning is about it (next chapter) for any real fallback on the old story, other than perhaps my "flamboyant" OC digimon, Spiritmon.

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><p><em>It's been only a couple of months now since our last adventure. We were in the digital world for what seemed like months at a time, hunting down Lucemon and Daemon, who had summoned back Piedmon, Devimon, Myotismon and eventually, Dragomon. With the crew of young and old digidestines, we managed to take all 4 of their henchmen, but not without losses. By time it was time to go take out Daemon, it was only Patamon, and Lopmon, and I. Along with a new character (or old, actually) Jim, and his flamboyant digimon, Spiritmon. Everyone else had either died or been possessed by a version of the Dark Spore. But, then Jim apparently turned on us, making me angry and drawing upon an anger I hadn't known about inside of. He inspired the corrupt form of my crest, exactly what Daemon had been going after, in accordance with a prophecy. But, in doing so, I was able to bring both Lopmon and Patamon to their highest forms. In my anger at my losses and perhaps failing the whole world, I made a wish in the Dark World I probably shouldn't have made.<em>

_I wished for Jim to go to hell. I wished he would never see the one he had loved and looked for longer than I had been alive. Not only that, I stared him down as he was totally destroyed by the energy in that wish. Not that I ever knew him to be overly nice or anything, but it revealed to me a side I had tried to keep hidden for a long while… An evil that I wanted to believe I, of all people, couldn't possess; hatred. Needless to say, when I found his letter explaining that he expected that to happen, I felt, and still feel, terrible. _

_In this letter, he gave us tickets to a vacation. Most of us (in fact, all of us but me) died in the last adventure and was resurrected somehow. Most likely Jim had a hand in that, but he never explained it very well. But, it said our adventure wasn't over, and that only Kari and I would continue on from our group… I've thought about the "Why Us" question. Obviously, we have been in the digital world the longest, and both of us are… close, but nothing that shows World-saving character traits. That's Davis and Tai._

_While everyone else went back, our tickets had another week, but in Florida. Mexico was beautiful, but now we're in the United States, for 2 more days. Matt and I talked, and he said that he thinks it's just going to be after the vacation that I get an alert from Gennai. Of course, that's just him hoping to see me again. Him and Sora… Yeah, they're married, but you know what? I'm happy for him. I wonder if Kari and I could ever have something special like that. I only managed to really express my feelings a couple of months back. Still, it feels like we've only taken baby steps so far._

_For now, I have to go scuba diving… Have I ever told you that I get nervous scuba diving? Ever since we all almost died trapped in an oil rig by MegaSeadramon, I haven't been particularly fond of anything underwater… Well, I've got to go. Kari's knocking on my door, and Patamon and Lopmon are starting to play some weird game of Morse code on the door to communicate with her…_

_TK. _

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><p>"Well, today, you all are going scuba diving. So, I will give you a rundown of the rules… Blahblahblah…" Seeing no one take notice, the Captain sighed. "Okay, I guess no one is paying attention anyways," He continued to pilot the small boat through the ocean. He went back to driving the boat. The blue sky above was perfectly cloudless, and on the horizon it merged seamlessly with the water to make a never-ending amphitheater of a multitude of blue shades. Smiling, Tk set his bag down carefully to not disturb Patamon and looked up. Such perfect days were so rare, that you couldn't exactly ignore the chance just to sit there and enjoy them. For a while, Tk simply lost himself in the warm weather.<p>

Sometime later, TK glanced up at Kari. She was in a blue sundress that was over her swimsuit, and it shone having the sun right over her right shoulder, making her somewhat silhouetted. Her hair had grown past her neck down to her shoulders. It was slightly lighter than the brown it had been when they left Japan, a little sun-bleached. She hadn't really tanned out, but her skin was a shade darker than what it had been.

The few passengers that were on for the voyage discussed quietly among one another until the Captain spoke up again. "And if you look over to your left, you'll see a giant sea monster devouring little children." Naturally, some people looked, but most continued to talk. Tk and Kari looked, but didn't see anything. They looked at each other and Kari just giggled.

After about an hour or so, the calming movement of the ocean had caused most people to fall off to sleep. Kari was dozing quietly in TK's arms, and he knew that Patamon, Lopmon and Gatomon were probably dozing off in their bags. Finally the boat slowed to a stop. The water was eerily peaceful around the boat, not so much as a ripple disturbed the surface at that moment.

"Welcome to the Bermuda triangle, the most dangerous place in the world for ships!" The Captain announced. As he said this, the once-calm water started to bubble slowly. He turned around for the first time to face his sleeping passengers. He had dark sunglasses hiding his dark face. He was very tan, and wore only a small ragged white t-shirt and swim trunks. He was well muscled and wore a captain's hat over his light blonde hair. His growing smile seemed to match the pace at which the bubbles grew more violent. "Now, witness the destruction of this place." Taking off his sunglasses, he winked at TK right as the boat started to vibrate uncontrollably. Kari bolted straight up, but the other passengers remained asleep. The ocean was now throwing the boat wildly and without mercy, and the clouds overhead had suddenly gone dark, blotting out the sun.

"Gatomon! Come quick" She shouted, pulling the white cat out from her bag. Tk did the same, but as he grabbed Patamon, the boat ruptured and they were sent into a white oblivion of smoke, water and damaged wood.

The water was warm, but the pressure increase was so great, it knocked the air right out of Tk. He could barely see by time his downward arc had halted, and his vision was going very black, very fast. Soon, he knew, he would black out.

After a minute or two, the captain, calmly standing on top of a piece of debris, smiled. Looking up at the sky, he laughed. It wasn't particularly evil, but it wasn't friendly. His laugh continued as everything around him went white.

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><p>I wanted to start this off short and sweet. A good cliffhanger in the beginning lowers temptations for future ones. Please RnR.<p> 


	2. The Inbetween World

Chapter 1... Actually. I have to change that, don't I?

I don't own digimon. But, I do like to write.

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><p>Tk woke up next to Kari and their 3 digimon. The landscape around him was white as can be, with faint shadowing here and there from a nonexistent light source. Kari was starting to stir as well, and so he tried to get to his feet, but found himself too weak.<p>

"Ah! You're finally awake!" Tk looked up to see the captain smiling. As he watched, the captain shifted into a familiar face: Spiritmon. The ghostly Japanese dragon was laughing with his eyes at the group. His clear eyes were full of humor, as always, and

"Sorry about that. But, as you can see, we aren't going scuba diving," Spiritmon laughed.

"Don't worry yourself over it… Not a fan of underwater adventures. But, why so dramatic?" Tk muttered. Spiritmon laughed again.

"We had to... well, I had to keep you not showing up at an airport as not surprising. By the way, don't worry about the people… Sharks had a good meal" Seeing Kari's shocked expression, he broke out laughing. "Kidding! There was actually no one on the ship with you, I just made it seem that way so it wasn't like some romantic kissing fest all the way here." Kari shot Spiritmon a disgusted look, but this only caused him to laugh harder.

"And that's why Spiritmon will never be a ship captain." Tk looked up to see another familiar face. With his grey-blue eyes, a black polo, crisp khaki pants, and a walking stick, Jim looked relatively the same as he had a couple months before. Seeing Tk's and Kari's shock, he sighed. "Yes, I have some explaining to do, and no you aren't dead. Yes, I am dead, yes this is the realm of the dead, and no, you won't be staying here. No, this is not Hell. I personally find that to be a little warmer. Now, did that solve any initial questions?" Not waiting for a response, he continued.

"And this is why God invented Hell… For logic," Spiritmon reasoned.

"When I died, I knew I wasn't going to see Lucemon/Lucifer right away. He, having escaped, basically left everyone in that world on a vacation, or a limbo. Those who have been there do not escape, but those who have yet to enter, cannot. Meaning they are reborn, or trapped in a similar dimension like this. Mostly trapped, but I have noticed that some more brutal ones that should die aren't. I expect you'll see them. I used an analogy about a heater, the larger the space, the larger the time spent warming it from one heater. This is the reason Lucemon won't stay here. The group that toppled Daemon could topple him. He owns no power in this realm yet. So, he switched dimensions. We knew this would happen. Gennai and I, at least. So, the vacation was just setting you up for the next mission, with a brief respite… Sorry about that."

"Huh?" Kari started. "If it took 12 of us the first time, along with you and Wizardmon, how can we win with just two?"

"Oh, you won't be alone. I don't have long, so I'm going to press you along for what is to happen. In our space-time area, we have three basic dimensions that I know of. Could be infinite more categories, but only three I know of. Digital, Spiritual, and Physical. You have been in all. The Digital World, Dark Ocean, and Earth each represent a dimension in each category. Now, here's the trickery part. Time is always referred to have 'fabrics'. Think of it as that. You are on a single rope: This is your space-time median. In that, the three dimensions you lived in at one point are fairly intertwined. Not hard to access any of them, you've done so many times. Now, there are thousands of other little worlds in each of these. Lucemon's prison was a 'split'. He was in a drive of Digital and Spiritual and needed essence of both to release him. That's what made it so powerful. Now, he, wishing to control all realms, has transferred himself to a different set of dimensions."

"By the way" Spiritmon put in, "If you come away with nothing from this, don't worry. He mostly is just making this so he can say 'I told you so' later". Jim knocked Spiritmon with his staff before continuing.

"So, with this in mind, he has gone to a different, potentially weaker, dimension to build up strength. You need to follow him. Each dimension has at least one of each category: Spiritual, Physical, Digital. Some are undeveloped, some are over-developed, some are gone. At one time, they had all three. As will the dimension he chooses, I suppose. But, beware: Every dimension plays by its own rules. For example: Your digimon are data here, but in another world, they may not be."

"How do you expect us to get to another world?" Patamon asked. He was sitting with a pure look of quizzical confusion on his face.

"Let me do that. You for sure will have enough on your hands. For example, Limbo is the median meeting in between point of all dimensions, where you now stand. From here, all can enter, but only the alive can exit. And, whenever you cross dimensions, you will end up here. To get to the moon from Earth, you travel through space. That's what Limbo is to you. Space, distance, separation. Now, to send you off…"

"Hold on," Tk said, looking at Jim. He stood up and looked hard into his eyes. "I need to apologize to you properly. I shouldn't have…"

"It was the only way," Jim said. He started to grow older right in front of Tk, until he had deep wrinkles and his eyes became even greyer, matching his hair. Showing his missing right hand, he continued. "But, it doesn't have to end this way. We all have to die, of course, but none of us have to die in vain. Don't let what I did be in vain. Lucemon can never be destroyed, but only imprisoned. When he chose to bring darkness to the world, he bonded himself to light. So, he became both the Light of the crest Kari holds and the Dark of the corruption you saw. We know this median as shadows. Even here, in a world that has never seen sin for there is no need for it, there are shadows. But, Tk, dark can exist by itself. Turn off the lights and try to find light. It won't happen. I have a parting gift for both of you."

He handed his staff over to Tk, it's green gem shining and changing colors to a brilliant golden. "This is my staff. I told you I got it from one of the DigiSovereigns. I didn't lie about that part. What I didn't tell you is that it was from another dimension, in which power from a human can be channeled into a gem and drawn upon later. Molded, in fact. We, as living creatures, play by dimension's rules, but a chair knows no difference from a kitchen to a living room. We do, though. That's why it is different. This staff is really untapped. I never had to use it much, although you saw me use it quite a bit… I had hundreds of years to charge it, slowly. Now, I feel as if I leave a part of myself with you. Never give this away, for any reason. Don't lose sight of it… It may save your life."

Turning to Kari, he took out a small case. "The time long before you, Light was presented as the most powerful of the eight elements you know of, the purest. It could only be corrupt by the other 7, now 8, dying out. Then, with nothing to help, it too would fall away. So, I wanted to give you something that is very close to me. It was my significant other's 'crest', so to say. The crests originally were symbol represented, instead of what we know now. This," Jim said, handing her a small box. Inside, a blue-white moonstone gleamed. "In our world, we call this optical phenomena 'adularescence'. It's a long definition essentially meaning internal light. I don't know its full uses, but I feel you should have it. Now, off with you!"

"Wait!" Spiritmon said, stopping them. "Jim forgot to tell you to expect this world to be all spooky and dreary and no fun whatsoever, much like a Godzilla movie with no happy ending. Other than that, have fun!"

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><p>Will looked around him before crossing the gloomy beat-up street. Where he lived, it never hurt to check twice. The road had as much pavement as grass growing through and the cars themselves were scarce. But, you never knew when someone would come with the intent to kill or rob. Or kill. Mostly, Will wasn't bothered. He was a small kid, long, smooth black hair covering his eyes part way. He never offended anyone and so he moved through the streets quietly to his small home, an abandoned shack, lacking windows, and cracked all around.<p>

He walked past the base of an old office building. The sides of the building had started to crumble and were in disrepair, but it was serviceable and still used by a small struggling banking company. Mostly, the cracked grey walls stood as testament to what the city had been, and what it had become. He continued his usual walk, straight from the small beaten up corner store to his "house". His little "house" was actually a rundown shack long since abandoned by the previous owners. The walls had crumbled and for the most part, there was no roof, but for the small bedroom.

But today, something was off. His 'house' had a light on. And Will didn't have a light. _It's probably someone looking for something important… I'll take a walk. _Will sighed, thrusting his hands in his pockets, and walked off. It wasn't dangerous yet, but he'd have to go home before dark. Bad things happened. As he passed people on the street, Will kept his head down, careful to avoid any eye contact. The people he passed, some laughed with those around them, almost always armed, others did the same as Will, hurrying on by.

Half an hour later, the sun was setting over the dreary suburb. It was time to get home. On his way, he passed a kid in brown pants and an orange vest. It struck Will as odd. He didn't look to see the face, but the way the person walked, alone, was casual. No care in the world, almost curious.

Upon arriving to his home, he was worried to see the light still there. He pulled out his switchblade in his jeans pocket and moved quietly to one of the windows. Staying outside was NOT an option. Looking inside, the light was cast from a door completely closed off from any of his windows. He swung himself over the window and into the house and crept closer to the light, moving patiently and painfully slow.

Suddenly, the light disappeared. Will, shocked by the sudden lack of brightness, jumped. The noise was so loud in the silence that he immediately sprung around the doorway, trying to salvage his element of surprise…

To come face to face with a small poof-ball. The little blue-green ball had two small horns and two slightly bigger wings. Its large beady black eyes stared up at Will. "HELLO!" It coughed briefly as Will recoiled backwards. _This is bad… Very bad… _

"Hey! Don't you want to play?" The small puff asked, following him as he walked out of the room. Monsters like these got people killed. Monsters like these killed people on a consistent basis… Although, Will couldn't recall a monster that was quite as colorful or cute.

"Please come back!" The puff said, hovering behind Will, struggling to keep up. He flapped his wings furiously to keep up with Will's pacing. "We're partners! Please, slow down! WE'RE PARTNERS AND I'M EXICTED!" The creature shouted. Will's eyes widened with shock. He grabbed the puff and put his hand over his mouth. Looking around, he shook his head at the puff.

"Well, do you talk at least?" The puff whispered. "Or is it because I haven't… Yes!" The little guy gathered himself, only to be silenced by Will, a simple finger over the puff's mouth. "Fine" the puff pouted. "My name's Petitemon. What's yours?"

Will looked at Petitemon and pointed at his mouth, then clamped his fingers and thumb together, representing his inability to talk. He looked out the window, everything dark around him, and breathed deeply. It seemed the cost was clear.

"That's fine! I understand sign language. " Petitemon whispered, still looking questioningly at Will.

Will started to make gestures with his hands. _My name is Will. Be quiet, please. This place is not nice at night. _Petitemon nodded. He wanted to talk so badly, but it could wait until morning.

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><p>A light appeared in the dark sky, above the darkened landscape. It was a vibrant blue, but appeared to only be a larger-than-usual star. From it, two people would slip, free falling towards the ground, only to be cushioned by an invisible force.<p>

"Well… I guess there wasn't a better time to arrive in a dark and scary place then at night…" Kari remarked, barely visible in her blue outfit. Tk, with his white hat, was more visible.

"It doesn't feel terribly evil right now," Gatomon said, her eyes shining in the low light. Patamon was perched on her head, messing with her vision by randomly shading her eyes with his wings.

"We need to find some place to stay the night… Quiet or not, this is still a city, and cities are never really a good place to stay outside," Tk said. The group started drifting through the deserted town, not seeing the prying red eyes from the dark shadows.

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><p>"Hey, hey! Will… I can't sleep." Petitemon said, nudging his resting partner. Will squeezed his eyes shut harder, pushing the small digimon away, but still Petitemon persisted. Eventually, Will gave up. He sat up and adjusted his pillow against the wall to look at the small pre-formed dragon digmon properly.<p>

"Why do we have to stay so quiet? I like to talk, shout and express myself!" Petitemon said, not anything louder than normal, but Will's look quieted him. "I like to express myself," Petitemon whispered loudly.

_Bad things happen to people at night if they are too loud or outside. _Will gestured. He hated sign language, sometime it took too long to express his feelings, but at least Petitemon seemed to understand him. Sign language sure beat writing. _Monsters attack us at night, humans attack us in the day here. _

Petitemon's eyes got really big, and he made a large 'O' with his mouth. "So that's why you don't talk?" Will considered hiding his face in his hands and crying for his misfortune, but an explosion behind him stopped that as an idea.

Will looked up to see three giant spiders stepped onto the streets. They had huge black bodies and a symbol of white skull and crossbones on their backs. Their nasty green eyes shown in the night. Someone was about to get hurt…

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><p>"Dokugumon! Three of them!" Tk shouted, looking at the giant spiders. The only thing that gave them away was the monsters' multiple green eyes. The streetlights, mostly not working anyways, did very little to illuminate the beasts.<p>

"Tk! We can kick these guys with our eyes closed!" Patamon shouted. Tk nodded, and looked for his digivice… But found it missing.

Kari apparently found the same thing, because she gasped in shock. Gatomon, on the other hand, was already moving forward. "Die, you stupid bugs!" She immediately leapt on one and started scratching the middle Dokugumon's head. The spider-like abomination got angry and jumped, twisting to try to shake Gatomon off.

Even Lopmon was going to go forward, but Tk held her back, knowing that she had the least chance of the three digimon. Sighing, she simply watched as Gatomon and Patamon tried to fend off the Dokugumon.

"We can't beat these things!" Kari shouted as the Dokugumon hit the ground hard, causing a rumble. Lights were flickering on from some of the buildings, casting large dark shadows of the monsters. Mostly, the lights went off again as the people feared being noticed.

Suddenly, a Dokugumon swiped from behind and nailed Tk in the back, casting him forward. The staff he had in his hand fell away and rolled towards Kari. She quickly grabbed it as the Dokgumon charged her.

Then, everything went bright white. The staff erupted in energy, shocking forth like white lightning. As the Dokugumon was about to hit Kari, it was blinded and exploded immediately, completely vaporized. The whole area shook, but the light died away, revealing all three monsters gone, either destroyed or just hiding.

"Whaa…" Patamon asked, his jaw wide open in shock. Pretty big mouth, Tk snickered, looking at his partner in the dim light. The five of them stood in silence, until they realized they had to move on. Kari quickly handed Tk back the staff, but was interrupted by a little kid tugging at her.

The small boy, shadowed altogether, lead them off to his small house, broken down and old, and the three humans tried to sleep easily until the early hours of the morning.

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><p>Thanks for staying with me. The second chapter is always boring in my books... I explain the terms I play on and then continue on. Have a thousand words of 3 done so far, could take me 5-7 days to upload. R+R, thanks for the couple of alerts (and 1 favorite already XD )<p> 


	3. The Coming of the End

**Thank you to the two who reviewed. You drove me to continue this story. I kinda write what I feel like, but you guys kept me committed to this story. I already have another story started, and this isn't a really long chapter for me (having 2,453 words minus my comments).**

**I don't own digimon. But, neither do any of the others who have helped write over 35,000 stories in this category. I just happened to like the show and show my appreciation by writing a chapter on it.**

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><p>Annabel woke up to her music box, softly playing the Waltz of Chihiro. It was her favorite song, and it flowed from the music box easily. The song came from a movie that she had watched and never gotten old of, Spirited Away. Sometimes she could be Chihiro, the smiling young girl who took an adventure into a fantasy world to meet a fantasy guy. She stood up in front of her mirror, and stared at her reflection. She certainly didn't look like Chihiro, but her mom said everyone was special. Smiling, she looked through her windows, shadowed in pink shades, and drew them wide open. She was gifted, that she was sure of. Her long blonde hair swept halfway down her back, slightly jumbled and tangled from sleep, and her blue eyes were soft.<p>

Her twin brother, Ansari, slept in the room adjacent to her, and she could feel him waking up. They rarely stayed asleep for long when the other was up. At only nine years old, the two of them had seemed to develop a telepathic link.

Smiling, she got up and put on her pink dress, flowing down past her knees, and looked at her surroundings. Unlike the slums of the city, she lived in the country with her parents, in a large grassy plain. The sun rising always was something that Ansari appreciated more than her, but they both shared their appreciation. She could feel his happiness at the beauty of the sky's bright colors.

Her parents probably would still be asleep. They woke up late, so in the quiet mornings, Annabel and Ansari seemingly shared pictures of the sunset, not even out of their rooms yet. She would tell him of her hopes for an adventure, to a castle far more majestic, and he would tell her of what he thought the world should be. They lived in a world that was removed, but both, at 9 years old, couldn't dream of something more perfect than an adventure.

It would begin that day. Each of the twins was oblivious to the little creatures behind them. One had been there all night, the other just arrived. The one that had arrived late at night was seemingly patient, having waited both for the other creature and the children to wake up.

"Hello!" The twins simultaneously heard in their respective room. They turned to see a teardrop looking digimon, one red, one pale purple.

"I'm Moonmon! You're my partner," the purple one said to Annabel. Her high-pitched voice made the small digimon sound like a wind chime.

"I'm Sunmon! Nice to meet you… Uhm, what's your name?" Sunmon asked.

Annabel grabbed Moonmon, careful not to grab too harshly, and softly tiptoed to her brother's room, where he opened the door before she even knocked.

"You have one two?" Ansari asked quietly. Annabel nodded enthusiastically. He quickly let her in and looked in the hallway to make sure no one was watching.

_They're cute! _Annabel thought, and Ansari nodded. Ansari was wearing a white polo shirt, and very formal slacks already, his blonde hair the same color as Annabel's, but his eyes harder. Their parents made sure they were always dressed "for company". Ansari didn't mind, but He was a softie, Annabel knew, but out of the two of them, he tried to be the 'protector'.

"Well?" Moonmon asked. When the two human children looked at her, she continued.

"Would you want to go on an adventure? You keep talking about it! Let's go!" Sunmon exclaimed happily. Moonmon smiled meekly behind him, seemingly not able to keep up with Sunmon's energy.

"Sure! Let's go!" Annabel exclaimed. But Ansari quickly shook his head.

"We can't go! What about everything here? And we can't cook," He said, and Annabel got the distinct feeling that Ansari was already a little hungry.

"Well, I want to go, though!" Annabel exclaimed. _Don't you? _She asked. It was more of a feeling than actual words, but Ansari nodded.

"Well, I guess we can go… but first, to eat!"

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><p>The palace walls were as white as porcelain. In fact, the floors could be compared to diamonds. But for all the beauty of the architecture, and the complexity of the grand staircase up to two heavy double oak doors, the beautiful place even seemed deadly.<p>

But, the palace's deadly inhabitant could explain this. Inside those massive oak doors sat an angel, 12 wings dividing him spectacularly, part dark, and part pure white. Lucemon, the generally pure white angel, sat there, his legs casually tossed over the edge of the large throne seat. A large digimon stood in front of him, a fearsome look on his face. He wore armor, gold and grey, and had a huge scythe on his right arm. His head was a skull with two long horns, and his kneecaps were each covered with a skull, presumably from a victim of times past. Other digimon inhabited the area, but these two were obviously the center of attention. The gold and grey armored digimon got onto one knee and bowed his head.

"How go the preparations, Sir Reapermon?" Lucemon asked, his voice ringing out clearly. It was obvious that while he had respect for the giant, he was in no way giving the Reaper any authority over himself. He gestured for Reapermon to rise.

"Lord Lucemon, the four riders will be here soon. The chaos is in full swing. I can feel many departed souls crying out now. It is as you planned, many digimon have been sent to become guides for new warriors." Swinging his right arm in a massive arc, making a loud _swoosh, _he continued. "You wish them dead, or converted, but their energy will be yours." Raising his right arm out straight in front of him, he cried, "Power to the King of Hell!"

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><p>Tk woke slowly to the sunlight that had just raised itself over the low broken wall of the red rumble around him. It took him a moment to get his bearings. He remembered what had happened, the small boy, who was currently in a corner, sleeping peacefully, had guided them to this brick building after the attack. Kari was sleeping against him, so he couldn't really move without waking her. Patamon, Gatomon, and Lopmon were no where to be seen, but he thought he could hear faint laughter, so he didn't bother getting worried.<p>

The issue struck him, though. He couldn't find the digivices they had packed in their bags… it could be a simple mistake of misplacement, but it had almost cost all of them their lives last night. It would've had to wait had Kari not started to wake up as well. Her hair was a bit of a mess as she picked rolled away from Tk to sit up, but she smiled at Tk and continued about waking up without adjusting or combing it.

"How are you this fine morning?" She joked sleepily, getting up slowly and stretching. Tk stood up and gestured to the small black-haired boy still curled up in the corner. Smiling and giving a nod, they followed the small racket to their digimon.

Tk and Kari immediately noticed that there were in fact four digimon, a little small puffball being the extra. Tk frowned, trying to recognize the small rookie digimon.

"Hey Tk!" Patamon said, just a little too loudly. "Meet Petitemon! He's kinda talkative –and a bit annoying- but he's a partner to Will."

"Nice to meet you, Tk! I'm Will's partner, although he doesn't talk much… But, we'll go on lots of adventures and have a great time!" Petitemon exclaimed. Tk got the impression of a hyperactive kid from the small digimon… It couldn't be helped, though. Most basic forms were hyper and child-like.

Just then, there was a creak behind Tk and Kari. They turned to see the black-haired kid, Will, standing in the doorframe. His hair shadowed his eyes a bit too much, as it was long and untrimmed. The way his eyes were set made it seem like he hadn't slept well in weeks. He gestured for them to follow him.

He led them behind the house, into what was a small fenced-in area. The grass was tall in some areas, but most of it seemed to have been burned back from the house, creating an over area. A small dead fire pit and pot sat in the midde of this clearing, and Will immediately gestured for them to sit. Then, turning to Tk, he gestured in sign language. Seeing Tk's confused look, he grimaced as he recognized Tk's inability to comprehend.

"Don't worry, Will! I got you!" Petitemon said. Turning to Tk, he translated. "Will wants to know if you have anything to cook. We can light the fire, but food is scare apparently. Also, we'll need supplies for the digital world." Petitemon said.

"You added that last part in!" Gatomon said accusingly to the small puff. She swatted him, flicking him towards Will. Apparently, the puff was as light as he looked because Will caught him with ease.

"So?" Petitemon asked, not comprehending what was so wrong with it. Gatomon just shook her head and rolled her eyes.

After a little bit of searching, a small breakfast was put together. Tk and Kari didn't pack much food themselves, but for some reason, when they went to look, there was just enough food to feed the humans and the hungry digimon. The breakfast wasn't anything fantastic; in fact, on most days people would've avoided it. But food seemed hard to come by and so they all ate their fill.

Throughout the whole breakfast, Will did nothing but stare at the ground and pick at his food. Evidently, both Tk and Kari found it strange, but only Kari addressed it, and this wasn't until the end of breakfast. "Uhm… Will, why are you sulking so much? Are you worried about us being here?" Kari asked slowly, not sure how to address the mute boy.

Will just shook his head and continued eating. He wasn't in a mood to discuss anything, and so the group continued to eat in an awkward silence.

* * *

><p>Reapermon stood in the front 'lawn' of Lucemon's palace. It was in fact a graveyard, but a well-kept and, admittedly, beautiful. The lawn was constantly pruned by small digimon, and all the graves were pure marble, white, black or grey. The intricate designs ranged from towering spirals to a mural of an angel. One would be hard pressed to call such a place 'evil' before calling it peaceful.<p>

But, the four arriving before him could easily change one's opinion on this place. They ranged in height and stature from one to another, but each had a deadly emitting them.

The first, a tall digimon that resembled a very tall human, wore black and gold armor and had a huge sword sheathed cross his back. His height made him easily the tallest, at over 7 feet tall. He had long golden hair that fell to the base of his sheath on his back. He would've looked perfectly human but for two features: his hands and eyes. His hands only had three fingers, each arranged like claws on a bird of prey. They weren't even fingers, though. These fingers were pure bone, bleeding red. His eyes were without a pupil. They were just yellow, nothing more to them at all.

The second character was a direct contrast to the first in height, being probably only 5 feet tall. He wore no armor but for some arm and leg guards. His shirt was simple, just white and black. Two massive axes were on his belt, and his arms gave testament to their constant use. This one, though, did not resemble a human. His mouth was fanged and his hair grew like a black mane. His nose was a beak and on his back, he had two large wings. They were massive, even when folded they were a good foot higher than he was. They had to be incredibly powerful, since even though this character was small, he was compact and built like a rugged boulder. He folded his arms and looked up at Reapermon, his eyes challenging. _This one, _Reapermon noted, _would fight for a scrap of food… using the scrap as a reason to fight._

The next character, Reapermon worked hard not to advert his eyes. The sickly figure was a shade of dirt green, from head to toe. He wore nothing but an ugly cloth, which, if one color, was a shade of brown that only made his green skin more ugly. This one was a hunchback, his arms lazily hanging in front of him, his head twisted at an odd angle to look at Reapermon. Drool fell from his mouth and destroyed the grass under him instantly, curling it over as if it was late summer. He had no eyes, his teeth were rotten, and he smelled terrible. _This man isn't a weapon… He is a poison._

The last figure could barely be called a character. He floated and had a long black cloth shrouding his whole figure. The cloth was ragged, as if someone had tossed and trampled over it, but it was pristinely black. The only parts of this body that could be seen were the hands and fingers. The fingers were made completely of bone, but not nice and white. Instead, they were rotting bones, brown and crusty red from dried blood. The bones were twice the size of any normal hand bones, and looked like they would be better placed on an ancient bird. Before Reapermon could form any opinions on this one, the figure hissed.

"You, who they call a Reaper… Know this: You would not stand a minute in front of me if I did not want you to. I am the only true Reaper. I harvest day and night. You pamper yourself, weakling. If this is the best Lucifer could do, he better be glad he had me. I am Death, these are my comrades. The tall human is Conquest, the short War, and the last, Plague. Be sure never to cross us." Every 's' that Death said was hissed out like the screams of souls being squelched. His voice would've sent any normal digimon or man screaming, but Reapermon wasn't going to give in so easily.

Then, he saw himself. He could no longer see anything else, and watched as he gradually got older, his armor rusting, covering with dust, and his back slouching until eventually, Death appeared… No, had always been there, and clenched his hands. Suddenly, Reapermon fell, and uttered a scream. He couldn't help himself, he screamed. His vision returned to normal to see Death chuckling, ever so slightly. The rest just stood there. Apparently, Death was the leader.

"You might want to take us to Lucifer now," Conquest suggested. "And by the way, it's 'Sir' Conquest."

* * *

><p><strong>Well, thanks for being patient. College cost me an arm, leg and soul to finish... My writing course was brilliant! If anyone has a chance to find a Professor Weigl, take his class. He currently resides at Lorain County Community College, but was a professor for Penn State. Vietnam veteran and a very good teacher. My other writing teacher was a report writing teacher, and he wore me down every day. Taught me a lot about reports and repetition. Sadly, this chapter was written before I had either of them, and I'm not changing it. Let's find a difference... For the better.<strong>

**Rate and review, and thank you for being patient. I lost hope in this story for a while.**


	4. The Strange, Strange Digital World

I have to apologize for updating so very late (months late?). I have had zero motivation and a lot of college work. Paradox of life, tonight I have an exam and philosophy paper to write. So enjoy. Motivation helps me to include this in my schedule more ;)

* * *

><p>"HA! Got you, Annabel!" Moonmon shouted gleefully, as if poking her while she attempted to make pancakes was an accomplishment."<p>

"Moonmon! She's making yummies! Like those round red things that are on their trees!" Sunmon complained. He was bouncing all over the place, though, bothering Ansari.

Ansari had changed out of his formal clothes into a pair of clothes that were of the same style, but had more stains. His outdoors clothes, Annabel noted. She was excited that he had decided it was okay to go on an adventure and not tell mom about all the speaking digimon.

Annabel had kept her dress, as her mother never bought her anything but dresses. She hadn't the slightest clue on how to run in her dress, but she had at least neglected to use any shoes, only packing the oldest sandals she could find. Even at that, they were only a couple months old.

"We're going to need a lot of pancakes for this adventure!" Annabel noted, cooking even more. It was their first time going on an adventure, and so they had cooked their favorite food. Along with apples and cupcakes and all kinds of good sugary food… And an extra pair of clothes, just in case they needed nicer looking clothes. They were completely prepared.

An hour later, all these preparations were complete, the pancakes in plastic bags, and a lunchbox packed if they didn't want pancakes.

"So, we're off to the digital world?" Sunmon asked excitedly. He hovered around Ansari, waiting for them to move.

"Well… How do we get there?" Ansari asked. It was a question that hadn't occurred to Annabel, but now seemed fairly important.

"Digivices! Don't you have them? All heroes have them! Moonmon exclaimed.

"What?" Both siblings asked. They exchanged confused glances.

"These!" Moonmon bounced and hit Annabel on her waste, where a small blue device resembling a crescent moon was clipped to a white sash. Annabel hadn't even recognized that she was wearing a white sash with her dress. The same was true for Ansari; although he always had a belt, there was now a red device shaped like the sun attached to his belt.

"Just say 'Open Says Me' and push the middle button!"

"Well… Nothing to lose, right?" Ansari asked nervously. He locked hands with his sister.

"Open says me!" A white light flashed in the room and all the occupants disappeared.

* * *

><p>"Hello? Anyone around?" A voice called. Immediately, Tk and Kari looked around, trying to find where the voice came from and Will snapped out to attention.<p>

"Do you know who this is?" Kari whispered. Will shook his head, and preceded to the outside of the clearing they were sitting in, finding a hole in the fence. But before he could slip through, he heard scraping sounds, telling that someone was climbing over the brick wall.

"Of course not, Henry! Who'd want to live in a dump like this anyways?"

"Terriermon! You can't be rude like that! Imagine what would happen if there was someone here!"

"I'd kill them all! They'd fall to my wraith! Oh… Food…" A small white and green digimon with long ears turned the corner. The group who had been eating already in the corner, and the little dog/bunny looking creature was so caught up looking at food that he didn't even notice the spectators.

"Terriermon!" A bigger kid, named Henry, rounded the corner. He was wearing an orange t-shirt and a blue best with black jeans. Unlike Terriermon, he noticed the group near the fence immediately. They were standing and staring back at Henry, who had his hands in his pockets.

"Who are you?" Tk asked. He felt a little awkward with Lopmon perched on his back and Patamon sitting on his hat, but Henry didn't seem bothered by it. In fact, when Terriermon noticed, he jumped on Henry's back as well.

"Hopefully, a friend. My name's Henry, and this is my digimon, Terriermon. We've been here for four days now, and all we've found is monsters."

Will started to make excited hand motions, which Petitemon translated. "He says you passed him yesterday… And you're that weirdo that was in here last evening! Although, it was good food."

"Well, that's why I returned. I figured someone would've claimed you by now."

Lopmon, who had been fairly silent the whole morning, second only to Will, spoke up. "Are you the people here to help us take down Lucemon?"

"Who?" Terriermon asked, munching on a granola bar he had stolen from Henry's backpack.

"Probably, seeing as we woke up here four days ago, and have no clue where we are. No one even recognizes this place as 'Japan' or knows what that place is," Henry answered. "Can we find someplace to sit for a while? I've been walking all night."

A few minutes later, the group had managed to pull some chairs and even part of a couch from the rubble of the house.

"So, you came from Japan? But, I don't remember these events that you speak of… Monster attacks as a child, a recent attack on the world by a digimon Daemon…" Henry said slowly. He was sitting on a small folding chair that they had found in the rubble. "Digimon, in our world, was a computer program that my dad helped develop as a college student. As far as I know, I should've been the first digidestine ever…"

"No one ever explained the existence of digimon to us… We learned recently, though, that they had been around for hundreds of years. The person who sent us believes that our two worlds, the digital and real world, were created as mirror images of each other at the same time." Tk was sitting opposite of him in a kitchen chair that was missing part of the seat. He was using a block to balance out a missing wooden leg.

"And this world just got digimon…" Kari finished.

The three of them sat in silence trying to make sense of the alternate realities.

"The interesting thing is, I've heard of you two…" Henry stated. "You were characters to the card game in our world. While the computer program never made a lot of money, the cards did. In fact, I recognized all of your stories… Up until this second attack by Daemon…"

Will turned and signaled everyone to be quiet. Gesturing for someone to follow, he crept closer to the door. A clanking sound came from the other side. Without any sign of caution, a white armored figure turned the corner, scaring Will. Will jumped back, silent surprise crossing his face. The creature, on the other hand, yelped and stepped back, almost tripping over itself. It was a relatively small figure, Tk saw. Even with it's white armor, it was apparent that the creature wasn't human. In fact, it was most certainly a digimon.

When the small knight turned to run away from Will, it finally managed to trip over it's own boots. Terriermon laughed cruelly at the poor creature's mistake and quickly jumped on him and then started bouncing up and down.

"Help! HELP! What sickly beast is bouncing upon my armor?" The small figure squealed. Kari and Terriermon giggled, but Tk and Henry immediately grew more serious. Henry pulled Terriermon off of the small figure, and Tk lifted him up off the ground. Hoisting him into the air, Tk realized that the little figure was a lot heavier than he had at first assumed. Dropping him, he was rewarded with another yelp.

"Mercy! Mercy, if beasts have any! Foul creatures drop me no more! I surrender, with honor!"

A while later, the group was again situated, but the white knight was in the middle. After some quick research, it had been discovered that the digimon was a white PawnChessmon. The little creature had tried to take a noble stance, even without his small spear. When Kari stated that he was a rookie digimon, Gatomon made a comment about it just being 'another worthless digimon'.

As soon as it was decided that PawnChessmon wasn't dangerous, he was immediately ignored. The conversation shifted back to Henry and his knowledge of the digidestines. PawnChessmon waited patiently, but eventually he was completely infuriated by the group's complete dismissal of him.

"I bare important news for thou company! It would please me to no end if thee shall hear me!" When the others finally looked at him, he continued. "My great and noble king has requested that those destined for digital reincarnation be granted a guard for their adventure into the darkness. He has sent me to guide you. I am Bo, The B2 pawn. I shall act as your guard and your… ehm… personal assistant."

"The second suits you better," Terriermon stated coldly. Could you see PawnChessmon's face, it would've been bright red.

"I would never help such an abomination! Give me my weapon and I shall slay thou ye tongue! And then burn you like a witch shall I. After which, a feast will be hosted in my name!"

Will, feeling slightly left out, went to the house, where he started to pull on a loose brick. Soon, he had dislodged a brick and retrieved a small notebook. Scribbling on the page with a pencil, he showed Tk the page.

_But he isn't any help if he can't get us to the world_

Nodding, Tk sat quietly while Henry tried to restrain the two digimon. The other digimon had lost interest and were all talking in a corner, hopefully playing nice. He looked at Kari, who was staring into space. Her expression was blank, almost as if she was falling asleep. It wasn't necessarily a bad idea.

"Shall we quest into the Digital Space?" Bo asked, finally separated from Terriermon. "For, all you have to do is hold your magical device of godly evolution and say 'Open says me'."

Silence fell, as the group looked around. Kari nodded her approval, but then Tk looked at Will. His eyes were questioning, and Tk already knew the question. "No, the words aren't required," He said.

"Oh, but they are!" PawnChessmon countered. "The silent one simply has to have his partner say it!"

"Well, that's easy," Henry muttered. "First time for everything."

"Then, open says me!"

* * *

><p>Spiritmon had long realized that Jim wasn't one for talking in the afterlife. They had calmly watched the new digidestines go off to fight from their limbo and Jim hadn't said a word. Even during their encounter with the first enemies, Jim hadn't even shown any signs of anticipation.<p>

"Is it scary knowing they control your fate?" Spiritmon asked.

"Do they?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, they win, or you go to hell, right?"

"You're in the same situation, you know."

"Not really… Wait, what do you mean?"

"Do you really think that Lucifer just wants me? That I would make him mad enough to have a vendetta against one person? Everyone is doomed if they fail."

"Well, that's not very fair," Spiritmon muttered.

"What did you expect? I had my hand cut off by a psychotic monster that I hadn't seen for hundred of years, nor associated anything with either. You call that fair?"

"I call that your 'just desserts'. You had that coming."

"He cut off my right hand. I highly doubt I was owed that." Jim sighed, sitting down on a chair that just appeared as he sat. "Spiritmon, unless they have multiple miracles, we lose. Wizardmon and I planned everything last time. But there was just one flaw: He had to live. Now that he's dead, I'm not sure that they can win. Wizardmon had the key, the final ace. He had the Orb of Creation, but now he's dead, and I don't even know where it is."

"That puny rainbow orb? It was a good lawn decoration for a long time," Spiritmon remarked.

"That 'lawn decoration' was the source of all the angel's power. We only had it because Lucifer gave it to us, thinking we'd lose it."

"We were pretty successful, don't you think?"

"Yeah, well that orb just so happened to make Lucifer vulnerable if he ever got to his invincible form again."

"How long until he reaches that?"

"Twelve days."

* * *

><p>"Lucemon, is that what you're called here?" Death rasped as he glided into the throne room. Lucemon nodded and stood to greet the four new arrivals. Reapermon stayed near the door, trying very hard to keep his composure. "It is a pleasure to see you and to be your ally again."<p>

"It is good to see you again as well. I see that you finally did decide to change your opinions on World domination. And I also see that we have some interesting weapon choices…" Lucemon said, gesturing towards Conquest and War for his last comment.

"In my defense, that little hobbit challenged my skills in hand to hand combat. Said a bow was too 'girly'," Conquest said defensively, gesturing towards War. "I do carry my bow around still, it attracts all the fair maiden I see."

"Two axes lop more heads than one sword," War responded, hoisting his ax. He looked at Conquest with a certain sort of disdain, a frown that could sour milk and then turned back to Lucemon.

"Well, whatever your reasons, you'll all be using them soon. There are at least six humans coming our way. Two groups have been established… but I think something is wrong. Traditionally, there were seven crests. There are two groups, one group of two and one group of four. The group of two arrived in the digital world this morning. They are really far away and not a threat. The other group is significantly closer, but not heading this way. Eventually, they'll learn which way they need to go," Lucemon rambled.

"Let's not keep them waiting. One quick strike could end this," Conquest said.

"No… I don't think that would be a good idea. Giving them a sense of urgency is just not a smart strategy. Let them come slowly. The best scenario would be to send them back to the real world, where you all control more power," Lucemon responded.

"Lucifer, you know us. Let us operate. Plague will strike first, then I will attack from the shadows," Death said slowly, hissing. "We can slow their progress down without them ever knowing we are attacking."

"And then we lop heads," War laughed.

"Fine, fine! Just give me twelve days. Twelve days and you can do whatever you want with them."

"By the twelfth day, they'll be begging for me," Death rasped.

"Good. Now, let me show you to your quarters…"

* * *

><p>Annabel and Ansari had never seen a place like this before. They were surrounded by trees with green leaves that caused the light to stream down like rays where it could poke its way through the thick canopy. Surprisingly, the forest was fairly bright and lively, with birds chirping happily all the time. But the forest was strange. Ansari watched as a leaf on the ground lazily floated upward to rejoin the tree above him. Around them in the forest, water, leaves, and twigs all floated up into trees. The rocks on the ground even merged with the bark on occasion.<p>

The forest was in late spring, where the flowers had stopped blooming, and the sameness of green had taken over the landscape. The trees showed signs of age, as their size seemed to testify to their own success, even in a forest that seemed to lack gravity. Eventually, the two came to a spring. The water in the small stream bubbled up the multiple smooth stones, again seemingly defying the laws of physics the young twins took for granted. But, to young minds like theirs, these events were only important in the fact that they had never seen leaves float upward and streams flow backwards.

The whole group remained quiet, almost as if they were striving to preserve the sanctity of this unknown world. The generally chirpy digimon siblings remained very quiet. That was, until Sunmon saw a small bottle floating up stream.

"Look! It's one of those pirate messages! You know, the ones you throw into the sea when you get stuck on an island?" Ansari turned and quickly worked to grab the bottle, which was bumping off rocks as it headed upstream. With a quick hand and good eyes, he was able to grab the bottle before it got to the top of the tiny rapids. In the bottle was, of course, a note. The note was written in beautiful handwriting.

_Hello younglings,_

_I hope you are enjoying your first trip to the digital world! You children of the sky are fairly young, and so you are only just starting to develop to your true potential. I would love to meet the two of you and help you discover your true powers. Many bad people are out there who would love to hurt you and I would hate to see such beautiful young lives be removed so quickly. I have a house at the bottom of this stream, a small place of rest, but still a house. If it helps your decision any, my partner makes really good cookies.  
><em>

_Enjoy your stay here!_

_Wizardmon_

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading<p> 


	5. Enter the Digital Field

Alone in a dark corner, Death rasped heavily as he meditated. Lucemon had given him a great task, one that required all of his concentration. But Death would prevail, Lucemon understood. Death was responsible for all those who died and had yet to reach their final destination. He was responsible to kill those who hadn't died when they were supposed to. He had performed his work thanklessly for thousands of years, years in which he honed his art of killing like a perfect blade. Those years were what Lucemon wanted Death to put to use right now.

Finally, Death felt what he had been searching: Nine beacons of light. Each one represented a soul that didn't have to die yet. But, they weren't where they belonged. It made finding them easier, whereas were they to hide in a city, finding them would take a little longer. Smiling, Death started to pull apart the strings of the in-between world.

* * *

><p>Kari couldn't remember having ever been in a world between the digital world and her world. Though she knew they passed between it countless times before, she never had seen what they passed through. Izzy had always stated that they passed through some sort of median, but no one ever wanted to listen.<p>

She regretted not asking for an explanation.

The area she was in right now was mostly green and yellow. She and Gatomon were floating in air, between what seemed to be data tubes. The small green and yellow squares reformed themselves often, changing directions and creating new passages. They were drifting relatively slowly, but neither Gatomon nor Kari had any control over their direction.

"So… what now?" Gatomon asked, swatting at the air around her.

"I say we have a fairly good chance of being rescued… So we wait here."

"I hate being rescued. It gets my fur in a knot thinking about having to owe someone something! Saving my pretty paws is it's own reward," Gatomon muttered.

"I could leave you hanging like this, Gatomon," a voice said. It echoed through the hallways without seeming to come from any specific direction. "But I won't… I'll be waiting for you to… Drop by… drop by… drop by…" The voice got fainter as it fell away.

Suddenly, gravity returned, causing Gatomon and Kari to literally drop through the digital floor and into blackness.

* * *

><p>Henry looked around to see a sprawling forest ahead of him. He had just sort of landed on the ground right in front of the forest, and the forest didn't seem too happy to see him. The ominous trees shifted darkly, the branches swaying slowly and silently.<p>

His experience had been similar to Kari's, but he had found an exit out of the digital highway to the digital world himself. It didn't help that he had managed to pick up an extra partner… The small chocolate bunny, Lopmon, had somehow gotten paired with him. His sister, of course, had a Lopmon, but hers wasn't nearly as reserved. Though Terriermon pestered the poor girl for the better half of an hour, Lopmon had yet to say more than a couple of sentences.

Henry looked at the two. While Terriermon was full of energy, hopping like a boxer ready to start a fight, Lopmon was quizzically looking at the forest. Henry honestly had no idea what to expect. Most of his adventuring had taken place outside the digital world.

"Well Lopmon… you've been in the digital world more often than me, what should we do?" Henry asked. He was trying to give Lopmon an opportunity to fit in, as so far, she had been distant. Around Gatomon and Patamon, Henry recalled, she hadn't been this anti-social.

"I've never been here either. While I appreciate your attempt to include me with your group, I'm afraid I wouldn't fit in," Lopmon said curtly, dropping the subject. Even Terriermon, generally a bonehead in these situations, got quiet.

_She can't honestly be this bad to Tk… I'd kick her… if I was that kind of person._ Rolling his eyes, Henry decided to move into the forest.

* * *

><p>Pawnchessmon, Tk, Will and their accompanying partners had all ended up together.<p>

"Well, here we are, good sirs and foul beast!" Pawnchessmon stated happily before looking around. He then realized that half of the group was missing. "Well. Better that way, the foul beast is gone!"

Tk had already long noticed the problem when they were travelling through the digital highways. If Pawnchessmon hadn't been so busy playing tour guide, he would've noticed far earlier. He couldn't really tell when Will had noticed. The kid had not only been mute, he had expressed no emotion the whole time. Now in the digital world, though, he seemed rather curious about his surroundings.

Petitmon was more than excited, as he squealed when he looked around and proceeded to interrupt Pawnchessmon multiple times. This was infuriating the small knight, who proceeded to raise his voice to talk over the small digimon. Tk excused himself from the group, leaving poor Will to listen to both of them.

With Patamon taking his common perch on Tk's head, Tk walked away from the group. Ahead of them was a crystal clear lake, probably 300 meters wide in all directions, nearly a perfect circle. The few white clouds in the sky reflected perfectly. The trees around it flourished, growing as tall as any trees Tk had ever seen in a forest. Though they were mainly on the right side, their imposing presence demanded attention. Their massive trunks were as wide as some small homes and they formed a wall that seemed almost impenetrable from where Tk was.

Perhaps most noticeable was the large castle in the distance, behind the lake. Made of pure white marble, it suited the beautiful lake perfectly. The columns on the castle rose like those in a fairytale, four perfect stone columns with a blue shingle spire topping them. The tops of the castles almost appeared like an ice cream cone.

"Nice place they got here… How much do ya think it costs?" Patamon asked. The question was more of an asking for conversation than an actual curiosity about the castle. Tk understood.

"More than we'll ever see, I'd bet. Seeing as we never have any digital money anyways…" Tk responded. Whatever Patamon wanted to say, he'd get to.

"Yeah, you'd think we'd get a paycheck for all this running. We get thrown into all of this without any say. Sure, it's fun and all, but…"

Tk nodded and sat down by the lake. "Last time, we almost permanently lost everyone. In fact, I'm still not sure how we made it through that one."

"Tk, do you ever think it'll end? I mean, Jim claims to have been the first of us… And he lost everything, basically. You like Kari, and a couple months into dating her, we're back risking our lives. Separated again," Patamon sighed.

"I've never heard you talk about something this deep. It's weird for you… You're worried about seeing Gatomon, aren't you?" Tk asked. Patamon was still on his head, but he knew Patamon was blushing. "I don't know… I can't say I haven't enjoyed my time, most of the time. The first year, when Matt and everyone else was frozen by Piedmon, I was scared. For a long time, it was the time I was the most scared. And for a long time, even through our second trip to the digital world, I was fine. We were the 'experts' of that group, having been in the digital world longer than anyone else. And so I acted like one. But, when Daemon came back and people actually started dying, it got bad… Going to face Jim at the very end, I was nervous and scared."

Patamon flew down next to him, landing in a patch of green grass. "Does it ever make you wonder why Daemon was so easy to kill? Like, compared to all the others, he didn't stand a chance… Even with us all at mega, you'd expect him to do better."

Tk stopped for a moment to look over at the group while he pondered the question. Will and Petitmon had also made a little sitting area, and Pawnchessmon had produced a fishing rod and was currently at the edge of the lake. How they would cook any fish he caught, Tk didn't know. Will and Petitmon weren't going to get any timber and there were no trees around.

Looking back at Patamon, he shrugged. "I really don't know. Does it bother you? I never really thought about it."

"Yeah, it bothers me a bit… By the way, what ever happened to that staff you had?" Patamon asked.

The staff with the core had been sitting next to him when they left. Tk had forgotten to pick it up… But when he thought about where the staff was, suddenly the staff simply appeared next to him. Looking at the gnarled wood, Tk realized that he had never stopped simply to admire it. In fact, since they started, Tk had barely felt he had time to say anything to Kari. The green orb seemed to dull out just a bit as Tk thought of that.

Patamon seemed content to sit in silence, and so they sat and waited for Pawnchessmon to catch some fish.

* * *

><p>Will felt more alone than he ever had. In the last day, he had met three new people along with a great amount of new creatures, but the invasion of his personal bubble seemed to be having adverse effects. Even though, for the first time in years, he had found someone who honestly understood him as he signed his archaic language.<p>

But Will had left the very place he called home. It protected him from the monsters that were rumored to roam the street at night. Not only that, Will had lived there, alone, for as long as he could remember. His solitude made him not mind the fact that he was mute. No one was there to judge him. But now, his muteness bothered Will. People might judge him, or look at him odd. If they couldn't understand him, they'd look at him funny.

"So, what do you think of my world? Seems like only yesterday that I was here!"

_Weren't you here yesterday? _Will asked. He wasn't interested in talking, but didn't want to be impolite.

"No! I've actually never been here! You just get that feeling sometimes… I mean, technically I was hatched yesterday. I might've been here as an egg… Then again, it's rather difficult to see outside of an egg. No windows."

Will rolled his eyes. His small puffball of a digital monster wasn't very smart, but then again, none of the digimon he had seen seemed exceptionally bright. Gatomon was witty, but that was it.

Not sure if he should continue the conversation, Will just sat silently. Petitmon looked disappointed, but didn't attempt to stir the conversation again.

(Line Break)

Lucemon sat upon his throne and looked at Death. Death had casually strolled into the white room. In the marble room, Death looked odd, his black and dark grey cloak out of place.

"Is the deed done?" Lucemon asked. He knew the answer, and it was confirmed by a short nod. Lucemon smiled. "Good. Now, you know what we've worked on."

"I know. The three have already gone. Shall we go?"

"Yes."

* * *

><p>Sorry for the short chapter. I'm working on another story side by side that currently holds my interests.<p> 


	6. Tensions Before the War

_I don't own Digimon. Here is chapter 6, short, but here._

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><p>"<em>In our village, one Terriermon or Lopmon has the ability to see into a person. The elder of our village has this power, as does a younger one, who is technically the heir to the power. The power switches every generation, so our elder was a terriermon. The power can allow us to see people's intention, and their spiritual makeup. You, Hikari Kamiya, show up extremely bright to me. You have a radiance of light and brightness, but the color is offset by fear. The fear isn't as great, but it is still there." <em>

Kari woke in a cold sweat. She had dreamed of the first time she met Lopmon, when they encountered her in the village Myotismon destroyed. That fear she spoke of had been small at first. But it had grown. Eventually, she had completely lost herself, if only for a moment.

At one time after they were done, she asked Lopmon to tell her what she saw. Lopmon responded that the fear had grown, permanently. The light had shattered, and though it came back, it had cracked. Kari had understood, she was no longer the innocent girl she had been the first time she saw Lopmon. She had watched multiple friends die, and even was linked in a dream where she killed Joe.

It finally dawned on her that she didn't know where she was. She could remember all the events preceding this moment clearly, but had lost consciousness before entering the digital world. She was currently standing next to a small oasis surrounded by a desert. In fact, the desert stretched every which way for as far as she could see. The oasis itself consisted of three palm trees, a cactus, and a small pond, shaded by the trees. The desert was strikingly familiar to her first visit to the digital world.

Gatomon wasn't up yet, and so Kari decided to go get some water. Taking a drink from the small pond, Kari sat down under one of the trees and started to think back. While she thought about Lopmon's description of her, something else struck her as even odder.

Lopmon's orb that had protected her that day was next to the rock. Lopmon had claimed that it had the 'old Crest of Reliability' infused in the orb. The issue was, no one Kari knew had given up the crest. Joe died and lost his crest well after, and when he was resurrected, he gained his crest back. Cody didn't have an official crest. In fact, the only Crest of Reliability that Jim could've gotten his hands on was the girl's…

Even odder, the orb had shattered. Yet, there it was, back. Good as new and bright blue. Someone was screwing with them now.

* * *

><p>Lopmon was walking quietly besides the terriermon and the older boy named Henry. Her refusal to talk and be an active part of the group had been blunt, she knew, but she needed her time to think. Henry had yet to share the same experiences as she had. Terriermon was almost completely white and light blue, full of innocence and playfulness. Henry was a mild yellow with just a trace of red, curious but anxious. The two of them knew nothing of how dangerous this quest would be. Even when Tk and Kari explained their last adventure, both had neglected to avoid all of the death and blood.<p>

Even they, though, didn't understand. How could they? They got back all they lost. Even Elecmon. But for some reason, no one ever questioned what happened to her home. Sure, some of them might be reborn, but their village's prophecy, their ability, ended with her. She hadn't even gotten to see any of them, to check to see if they had been reborn.

The trail dragged on as they moved silently. She knew she was weighing down Henry and Terriermon, they hadn't talked since they entered the forest.

Faint rustling was all around, but suddenly Lopmon felt very paranoid. A chill crept up her spine. Someone was coming. Before she could express her fear, a stench overwhelmed the group and the forest started to die from their left.

By now, Henry and Terriermon noticed. "Let's go!" Henry yelled, grabbing Lopmon. Terriermon jumped on Henry's back as he took off. But the dying eventually surrounded them. A cold, hard laugh came up from behind. Henry turned, accepting that he was surrounded. Lopmon could feel a minor pain in her chest from just standing around in the death. The whole area was black to her. She shuddered. There was so much death.

Riding through the trees on top of a sickly green horse was a humanoid figure that had rotting flesh all over. His color was pale green, and his hair was greasy and long. His arms were hanging onto the reigns of the horse, but they were very slack. The horse didn't seem to mind the drool and came out of the creature's mouth. The whole creature seemed to be surrounded by green smog.

Henry wasn't going to stay. The horse was traveling slowly now. He grabbed Lopmon again and just ran again. The horse trudged on, but it would seem they were outrunning the monster.

Just when it looked like they were in the clear, though, a dying tree's roots gave out and the tree fell right in front of them, almost crushing Henry. The tree was as thick as the surrounding trees, making it almost 15 feet high, impossible to climb with the other two on him. Turning, he saw that the horseman had cornered him.

* * *

><p>Annabel and Ansari had been running downstream for a little while. Well, jumping and playing, more like it. The small twins and their partners could not keep themselves focused. Right now, they were playing tag, a game Moonmon had started. The small stream and trees provided a good and interesting course for them to play on.<p>

"Ansari, how do you expect me to catch you if you're in a tree?" Annabel complained. "Women do NOT climb trees. That's no fair!"

"Psh, you're just a little girl," Ansari teased. Still, Annabel refused to climb the tree. Moonmon and Sunmon were currently hiding, and so Ansari was the only easy participant to see.

"Ansari, I'm NOT coming up there in my dress! It could get torn, and I don't have that many dresses, anyways," Annabel complained. When Ansari just climbed higher, Annabel sighed and started to climb.

By time she was five feet up in the tree, she noticed Sunmon and Moonmon hanging from branches even higher up. They managed to float just a bit, and they were higher up than Ansari.

But their laughs and playful glee had garnered unwanted attention. A large digimon walked into the clearing. The white and grey armor had been polished to perfection, just the way Reapermon preferred.

Sighing, he looked at the kids. He was sent here to take care of them, but Reapermon was not without morals. He could easily reach the girl, but he wasn't about to kill her. The digimon, though, would have to go. They were out of his reach, and going after them would mean hurting the kids. So, they had to come to him. Reapermon decided it was time for an intimidation check.

"You shouldn't play in trees. They have a tendency to… fall." Reapermon punched the tree, well short of his full strength, but enough to make it sway. Unfortunately, Ansari was slightly off balance, and almost fell off.

_Well, as long as he doesn't die… yet… _

* * *

><p>Conquest looked on from his telescope, aimed towards his target. Coming away from it, he looked at his personal servant, a small dwarfish figure, Black pawnchessmon.<p>

"I refuse."

"But… You must, sir!"

"I have never laid eyes upon a fair maiden that I didn't like. And I have never attacked a fair maiden! I refuse. Would you like to attack her yourself?" Conquest asked. He knew the small figure, while smart, was a coward. Satisfied with the small figure's vigorous denial, Conquest walked away.

* * *

><p>Tk, Patamon, Will and Petitmon sat around a small fire. Tk and Patamon earlier, who had gone over to the forest's edge, had collected the timber. Pawnchesmon was still fishing silently, but had given the two fish he had managed to catch in four hours to the group. He obviously wasn't a good fisher.<p>

"Tk!" Petitmon said excitedly, looking up from the cooking fish. "Will wants to know what the digital world was like the first time you were here." Tk looked at the two. He could tell that Will's question had piqued the interest of Petitmon as well.

Settling down a bit as he turned the fish on the spit, he thought of how best to explain it to a kid who was the same age Tk had been at the time, yet so much more mature. "Well, I had a couple of really good friends and a great brother…" Tk began.

* * *

><p>Outside the camp, War watched the peaceful exchange with a certain disgust. He would wait to strike, because it was no fun to attack an enemy when they didn't have the energy to fight back. Of course, it wasn't any fun to wait, either. Sighing, he hoisted his small but bulky body into a more comfortable position, and settled down. He had some ale around somewhere, anyways.<p>

"This is getting out of hand," Jim sighed. The images of the adventures were all over the blankness of limbo, making a collage of movement in the otherwise-dull setting.

"I love the way you seem to think that we can't do anything about it," Spiritmon responded.

"I have so few cards to play, Spiritmon, it's not fair. I don't want to start playing them now, but it would seem I have to."

"I'd be glad to add a few…" Spiritmon said slowly. He knew Jim enjoyed his company, and so he was tentative about asking to go away. Both of them knew it was possible, though.

"Spiritmon… Later. You're not the card to play right now. How would you help any of this? Spread the knowledge? The groups aren't united. It wouldn't help yet. Trust Wizardmon."

Footsteps could be heard walking towards the two, with small bells ringing. Both turned to see an unlikely visitor, Piedmon. His coloration had returned to normal, and he had a smirk that would make small children believe Freddy Krueger was a spikey teddy bear compared to Piedmon.

Piedmon laughed gleefully before looking Jim right in the eyes. "I hear you want a trump card! Lucky for you, I always carry an ace up my sleeve!"


	7. Surviving the Plagued Knight

Sorry for the wait. It's been rather hard to get into this story. A different beast than Rise of Daemon, for sure.

* * *

><p>"Is it not enough to win back your freedom after many millennia? I have worked and toiled to gain what I have today, and yet that human, who I have spent so much time trying to kill, would try and take this away from me!" Lucemon fumed. His court was empty at the late hour of the night, and the shadows that crossed the open floor gave the room a completely different feel. No longer was the white marble perfect in its radiance, but now simply a dull colorless backdrop of a moonlit evening. Lucemon himself had decided to pace in the open floor, seemingly talking to himself. His white angelic wings were only present on the right half of his body; his left side had taken a noticeable demonic appearance, but retained the same amount of wings.<p>

"Once a Cherubim, I had a great honor, but honor is not something that you can hold in your hand. I became one of the ten great angels, a position I RIGHTFULLY obtained. He helped me obtain it, admittedly, but only for a fleeting moment. Then he helped lead to my demise. What had I done to deserve it? So he lost the girl! That girl never would've allowed him to achieve his true potential! And I gave him immortality, something that could far exceed any one girl. He could've had anyone he wanted, he lived forever! But no, that one girl meant enough that he would make his one goal to sink my beloved position. His revenge was not served, but I served time for it. Now, I am free! Not one second too soon, he reappears and decides to send me back. No… I shall not lose my freedom."

"Hmhmhmhmhmm… Hath a ghost of most ancient blood filled your mind with scorpions?" Death strolled into the room, hunched forward but appearing no less powerful than Lucemon. "Beware not the serpent, but the worm that doth fly forth. Without fang or poison, yet open are the chances to kill the spawn. Even Banquo, most saintly of knights, never beat the troubled Macbeth. It would seem that you have created a feast for Banquo and he has attended, uninvited."

"_It would seem_ that you have had much time to read. How is it that you have such a knowledge of literature when you have a tireless job?"

"An interest of mine that was never explored to its fullest until Plague took the world hostage. I made a request for the playwright not to be visited by the rats. And so I attended his plays and listened to the best stories ever to be written. They call Macbeth a tragedy. I call that reality. They believe that fantasy… I know it a documentary. For though he avoided the plague, his own fruit was far from untouched. But enough of this. Tonight, eleven days remain before your power is supreme."

"This is a long time. The target is far too large for an expert archer. The 'worm', which might have little power now, may grow teeth beforehand, and I have not the power to take him down myself. No longer do I feel like we should head out ourselves to attack them, but rather to wait."

"I doubt we can eliminate them yet. Rather, why not make their separation more… permanent. I will bring my blessings to one, and another can know of our work in the other world. The last will stay, stranded and alone. Killing destroyed hope last time, it might work again. And I assure you; I am stronger and smarter than any minion working before. I shall be victorious. You can stay here, but I will go along as we planned earlier. It may take time… But we have time to spare yet."

"So be it. On the tenth day, let's make this game more interesting."

* * *

><p>"I once believed there were morals to this world," Reapermon sighed to himself quietly. The two small children were someone that he would never kill, given the choice. "Give me someone who can face me. Someone who can stand up and have a chance. Not children. But, duty is duty and orders are orders… And I've stood here for hours now, watching them cry."<p>

It was true Reapermon had waited for hours, as the moon was now high above. Ansari and Annabel had no idea what to do. Ansari had pulled himself up with the help of his sister, but now they were really stuck. The two couldn't climb any higher, and they certainly couldn't go down. Moonmon and Sunmon seemed just as perplexed by the situation as they were. The whole group had long since recognized that Reapermon wasn't trying to kill them right now, as the tree testified to his true strength.

"Fortune does not favor those who sit and wait." Reapermon said to himself. "You two, I offer you a quick death. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to survive any longer. If you so choose, I can give you both a quick and painless death… Otherwise, I will have to topple this tree and then kill you…" Silence. Reapermon could almost feel their shock. Time had numbed them to their situation, as inescapable as it was.

The certainty of death hadn't registered yet. Having never faced even the slightest bruise without a maid tending to their wounds, the two had no concept of what death was, other than a vague understanding that it was 'the end'.

"I'm no monster… yet today I will perform an act that even demons would despise me for." Reapermon brought back his arm, preparing to fell the tree. "To a quick death, and may it treat you better than I have."

* * *

><p>"Gatomon, what is it?"<p>

Kari and Gatomon hadn't moved from the pond since waking up. It was a good place to stay, seemingly safe and well supplied. There was no reason to leave, not at least they understood where they were.

"I think someone's watching us…" Gatomon stated, frowning. She stared off into the deeper woods where Kari's eyes could pick nothing up but shadows.

"I don't see anything."

"Kari, you have human eyes. I think we should go." Gatomon said, moving to grab Lopmon's orb and gestured for Kari to follow.

"Fine. But they're going to follow us even if we move."

* * *

><p>Black pawnchessmon knew he had made a serious mistake. The small cat had noticed him, mainly because he had tripped over a large root that he couldn't see in the dark. He had taken off running to go find his leader, Conquest.<p>

"Sir, the enemy has taken notice of our presence and is retreating with such speed that should we sit, we'd lose them forever."

Conquest had been writing in a large diary of his, something Black pawnchessmon thought rather feminine. But when he turned to face the small pawn, Conquest's face was livid. "You idiot! These are women, of which one must take the finest preparations before riding to meet them. Now, they are under the impression that we are nothing more than mere paparazzi, following them with nothing more than desire to catch them unaware."

Conquest stood up to his full height, which made him look menacing compared to the short form of Pawnchessmon. "We must begin negotiations."

"Couldn't we just engage them?"

"Why, we hardly even know them and you're already hearing bells! Maybe you ARE simply fans of them, love struck beyond reason!"

"Sir, I meant entice them into combat!"

"I daresay, you certainly do say things funnily enough! What man would try to make meet such fine ladies in such ways to make them out to be common harlot? I ought to hang you! Now, let us follow them!"

"…Yes sir!"

* * *

><p>"It is time for you to meet your end." These were the only words Henry heard out of the horseman in front of him.<p>

Henry quickly glanced around. Out of all the chosen from his world, he was the smartest and easily the most suited for tough situations. Sure, Takato and Rika seemed to find a way to mash out with force, but this situation… the horseman incited fear. No amount of attacks would down this monster. After years of messing with the cards, Henry could almost certainly forcibly draw whichever card he needed.

The two cards in hand, he quickly pulled out his D-Power and swiped both cards. "Hyper Wing, Speed" Henry called out, signaling to Terriermon to get moving. Terriermon grew two large wings for his size. With Henry holding on to both Terriermon and Lopmon, he wouldn't be able to make any adjustments at this point.

The horseman wasn't going to stand idly, although moving fast seemed out of the option. Instead, a low screeching sound started as Terriermon lifted off. Henry looked back to see a swarm of rats coming out of the ground, infesting the forest floor. Apparently, Plague would allow them to escape, but not to land.

"This could be problematic…" Henry sighed.

"Henry, I'm tired!" Terriermon complained. They had only made it about fifty feet away from the horseman, and even with all the obstacles between them, he would catch up if they dropped now.

_I need to get the endurance card! But using the D-Power requires two hands, and I don't even have one hand free. _

"Lopmon, I'm sorry, but I've got to get my hand free." Henry said calmly. He quickly maneuvered the still-quiet rabbit so that he could hold on to her using his thighs. Ignoring his quickly tiring right hand, Henry flipped open his card set and drew the endurance card…

Except it wasn't. He couldn't look, but he swiped the training weight card, causing Terriermon's ears to grow heavy and the ground to tumble towards the rat-infested ground.

* * *

><p>"DEAR WIFE" The silence surrounding a picture perfect cottage and clear stream was shattered. The birds of the early morning quieted down and looked for danger.<p>

"QUIET, YE OLD BAG! I'M RIGHT NEXT TO YOU!" The cottage almost shook with the noise, louder than any human could've made. The birds that had been rejoicing in the stream took flight and were fleeing.

"YOU HAVEN'T GOT YOUR HEARING AIDS IN, ALICE!"

After a couple of seconds, the quiet resumed. "Oh."

The little cottage was the same color as the trees around it, and it seemed to be only big enough for one room. Soon enough, the sole door opened and out stepped a small, cloaked figure. The cloak covered up most of his face, and what it didn't cover, his large wizard's hat did. The hat had a moon on it, and sheltered the greying blonde hair of the short figure. A staff with a large sun topping it completed his wizard-like appearance, but he also had on thick leather boots.

"Ah! I do enjoy the fact that every day is Spring here, Alice!"

"I prefer the swamps, Merlin!" Alice said, joining the first. She was wearing a blue robe and hat as well as a broomstick in replace of the staff. Her once-brown hair was now dulling out, but still maintained much of its old color. She was slightly taller than Merlin.

"Alice! With those kids around, I'd rather you just call me Wizardmon for the time being. You know, you're the only one who knows that name anyways!"

"That'd be because I gave you the name! Aye, you're mine once I brand you!" She cackled happily. Merlin joined in, chuckling.

"I think we might have to go meet the young ones ourselves. They probably got into some trouble!"

"Ah, but they wouldn't have been chosen if they couldn't get us into trouble with a couple of years of settling down! Shall I chant us to their place?"

"Only if you have Grimalkin with you."

"Oh! I almost forgot my cute friend!"

Wizardmon chuckled. "You're getting old, dear wife!"

"My hair color has yet to turn the color yet."

"You use magic on your hair."

"And how would YOU know that? What, are you a spy?" Alice asked suspiciously.

"I'm your husband!" Wizardmon laughed. "You ARE getting old!"

"I'm married?"

"Dear lord…"

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><p>I hope you enjoyed it. Reviews, please. They make writing so much more enjoyable when you know someone's reading.<p> 


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